System and method for in-situ characterization and inspection of additive manufacturing deposits using transient infrared thermography

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for the real time inspection of additive manufacturing deposits using infrared thermography. Various embodiments may enable the measurement of material properties and the detection of defects during the additive manufacturing process. Various embodiments may enable the characterization of deposition quality, as well as the detection of deposition defects, such as voids, cracks, disbonds, etc., as a structure is manufactured layer by layer in an additive manufacturing process. Various embodiments may enable quantitative inspection images to be archived and associated with the manufactured structure to document the manufactured structure's structural integrity.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION(S)[0001]This patent application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent No. 62 / 323,323, filed on Apr. 15, 2016, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT[0002]The invention described herein was made in the performance of work under a NASA contract and by employees of the United States Government and is subject to the provisions of Public Law 96-517 (35 U.S.C. § 202) and may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefore. In accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 202, the contractor elected not to retain title.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Additive manufacturing, also referred to as three-dimensional printing (3-D printing), is a rapidly growing technology with numerous applications, from fabrication of space components to rapid production of a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0005]The present invention described herein provides systems and methods for the real time inspection of additive manufacturing deposits using infrared thermography. Various embodiments may enable the measurement of material properties and the detection of defects during the additive manufacturing process. Various embodiments may enable the characterization of deposition quality, as well as the detection of deposition defects, such as voids, cracks, disbonds, etc., as a structure is manufactured layer by layer in an additive manufacturing process. Various embodiments may enable quantitative inspection images to be archived and associated with the manufactured structure to document the manufactured structure's structural integrity.

[0010]Various embodiments of the invention may include thermal nondestructive evaluation being performed using image processing techniques to calculate the temporal thermal response at a given spatial point and to use thermal models or processing techniques, such as principal component analysis, time derivative, etc. The thermal models may be used to calculate material properties or physical dimensions, such as layer thickness. The material property or layer thickness may be displayed as an image to detect anomalies corresponding to defects. The processing techniques may be used to process the data into an inspection image and to improve defect contrast within that image.

Problems solved by technology

By monitoring the temperature distribution, the build quality can, with limited success, be determined and controlled.

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